Case Summary

On June 8, 1909, Thomas Johnson was arrested by E. F. Brailey for vagrancy and arraigned in the police court on a plea of guilty. Thomas’ petition charged that the intent was not to plead guilty - which was made known on June 11, 1909, that he had no representation, that he was not given time to secure witnesses, and that he did not waive his right to trial by jury. He was sentenced to 90 days in county jail by the police court. Johnson also claimed to have been denied his U.S. Constitutional rights in Articles 5 and 6 and denied his rights in Article 1, Sections 3, 5, and 11 of the Constitution of the State of Nebraska. A writ was issued on June 17 but later denied on June 18, 1909.

Case Information

Petition type(s)

• Carceral

Petition subtype(s)

• Vagrancy

Sites of significance

• Douglas County Jail (Omaha, Nebraska)

Outcome

Writ denied

Fate of bound party

Remained in custody

Case Citation

Douglas County (NE) Criminal Appearance Docket Books, Vol. 14: ca.1909 - July 1911, p. 65; RG230 Douglas County Records, Subgroup 10: District Court, 1855-1972, Series 7: Criminal Case Files, 1897-1920, Roll 39: Doc. 14-1 to 14-100, Apr. 7, 1909 - Aug. 14, 1909, No. 14-65 (microfilm)

Source material(s)

Docket | Case File

Length of case file

Between 6 and 10 pages

Repository(s)

• History Nebraska (Lincoln, Nebraska)
• Douglas County District Court (Omaha, Nebraska)

State

• Nebraska

Point(s) of law cited

U.S. Const. art. V, VI.|Nebraska Cont., art I, § 3, 5, 11

Tag(s)

• Technical vagrancy

People

• Johnson, Thomas (bound party)
• Johnson, Thomas (petitioner)
• Couch, J. C. (petitioner attorney)
• Sutton, Abraham L. (judge)
• Kennedy, Howard (judge)
• Crawford, Bryce (authority ordering detention)
• Brailey, Edwin F. (respondent)
• Brailey, Edwin F. (holding party)
• Brailey, Edwin F. (responding party)
• Phizek, J. V. (responding party)

• Additional parties

  Mead, A. J. (Deputy)

  Smith, John A. (Notary Public)

  Mahoney, John J. (Clerk, Police Court)

  Orvick, Robert (Clerk)

  Steere Jr., Asel (Deputy)